"No News is Good News" - unless you are trying to put together a webpage on News. In which case a blank page looks a little bit funny.

So why don't you email us and tell us what you
think is making news in Great Baddow, that you'd like to share with us all. If you wish it to be anonymous, we're happy to oblige.

Great Baddow student is Young Leader of the Year

Niall Pollinger, a sixth form student at Great Baddow High School and Young Leader for
the Chelmsford School Sports Partnership, was voted 'Young Leader of the Year'
at the Chance to Shine Awards in London on 7th October. The award was given
in recognition of Niall's commitment to developing and supporting the Chance to Shine programme through leadership over the last four years.

Chance to Shine is a national charity that is focused on bringing cricket to schools and communities across the country and volunteers are a valued part of their organization.
Volunteers are recognized at their Annual Achievement Awards and Great Baddow High School were delighted when Niall was nominated for the Young Leader of the Year Award
by Sara Robson from the Chelmsford School Sports Partnership.

[Source: GB Community - Oct 7th 2015]

Blue Lion Reopens under New Management

The Blue Lion Pub and Restaurant on Tabors Hill, right in the middle of the village, has reopened after an extensive refurbishment. A grand opening night was held on 17th July
to mark the occasion.
The restaurant is open from Tuesday to Saturday serving its regular lunch and dinner menus and on Sundays for Roast Dinner from 12 - 5pm. The menu can
be viewed on their site.

Memorial Bench installed at Recreation Ground

Great Baddow Recreation Ground now has a fine memorial bench near the children's play area thanks to the family and friends of Vi and Jack Patrick.

Violet Patrick (Vi) was born in Great Baddow and lived here all of her life, and Leslie John Patrick (Jack) moved to Great Baddow when he was 20.
Clare, Julian and their families would like to thank all of their friends whom they cannot thank personally for their kind donations towards the bench, and hope that many will
get a chance to use it and recall happy memories of their parents for many years to come.

Great Baddow Town Crier Announces Royal Birth

Great Baddow care home owner, Tony Appleton, officially announced the birth of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge 0n 2nd May 2015 at St Mary's Hospital in London

Tony relished being the centre of attraction for TV crews from around the world as well as local well-wishers and featured on radio and TV in Japan, USA and Australia.

[Source: Essex Chronicle - May 7th 2015]

Charity Race founder receives council award

Bob Hendrie has become the sixth recipient of the honorary Burgess award for his part in founding the annual Great Baddow charity races and then masterminding it for 31 years.

In the first year money was given to both Meadgate Church and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. It is estimated that the races have raised almost £500,000 in total
over the years hope to increase that by at least £15,000 in 2015. To enter this years' races go to www.baddowraces.org.uk

[Source: Essex Chronicle - April 30th 2015]

Junior Cup Win for Great Baddow

Great Baddow recently won the Essex Saturday Junior Cup after a gap of 51 years. They came from behind to beat Sumners in the final at Maldon & Tiptree FC.

Sumners, from the Hertford and District League, took the lead early in the match but goals from Dane Nelson, Luke Perry and an own goal made it 3-1 for the villagers. A late goal from Sumners meant a
worrying final period but the locals held out for a well deserved victory. Sonny Neeman, the Baddow manager, was delighted after the match as the team, commenting that the team have now won every medal that was possible
at their level.

[Source: Essex Chronicle - April 30th 2015]

Beehive Pub Closes

Unfortunately, dwindling business has led to the closure of the Beehive pub at the junction of Baddow Road and Beehive Lane. One of the iconic pubs in Baddow for many decades, the
Beehive was well-known for its
charity fund-raising, including the famous Winkle Club in the 1960's.

Now boarded up and with concrete bollards blocking the car park entrance, the pub will be demolished to make way for shops and housing. The closure of the Beehive follows by a couple of years that of its near neighbour
on Baddow Road, the Carpenter's Arms, whose former premises are now home to the Yasmin Indian Brasserie.

[Source: MC - April 11th 2015]

King's Head Quiz Night Raises Money for The J's Hospice

A Charity Quiz Night Held at the King's Head on 26th February raised almost £350 for the J's Hospice. The pub was packed with Great Baddow's aspiring Masterminds for
the fun evening. A close competition saw the Loungers finally win by 1 point from the Smidgeons to claim the Champagne prize.

Raffles and an auction helped boost the total. Toni thanked all those who had kindly donated items for these and also Kiri for providing tasty Indian bar snacks.
Due to the evening's success, Toni announced that there would be regular weekly quizzes every Thursday night at 8pm.

[Source: MC - March 6th 2015]

New Landlady at King's Head

Toni Crosbie has recently taken over as landlady at the
refurbished King's Head in Maldon Road.
Toni is planning to bring back a traditional country pub feeling to the popular location, which celebrates its 400th birthday this year.

As well as new decor and a no-nonsense barring policy, Toni and her partner Julian Pannent have introduced a new traditional English food menu and are
working to attract new customers.

Toni is also planning on introducing an open mic night, live bands and karaoke and will host, on 26th February, a charity quiz night in aid of the J's Hospice, as well as a cider festival in the garden in the summer.

[Source: Essex Chronicle - January 22nd 2015]

... and so, in the spirit of testing Toni's plans on behalf of our readers, we ventured forth to the King's Head recently (paying our own way, note!). How did we find things?
Well, there was certainly a nice friendly feel to the pub. We both had the
steak and mushroom pie, served with chips and peas. The pie pastry had a lovely taste and texture, was actually filled with steak and mushrooms and had
been made by the cook herself. The gravy was full of flavour; the chips were hot and well cooked; and the peas actually tasted like peas and not the usual pea-shooter
ammunition that is commonly served elsewhere. All very enjoyable and good value for money. Well worth trying for yourselves - and, to paraphrase Arnie, "We'll be back". [MC Feb 2015]

Thanks to Greg who wrote to us as follows :

"On reading your last post about the food at the kings head we ventured out to eat. We heard there was a new chef at the kings head and we had roast beef and a roast chicken,
and we were not disappointed, the roast was so nice and fresh, the meat was lovely, not one complaint great Sunday lunch. A big Thank you for your information."

We also had friends who were down there last night (5/3) and had the fish & chips. They were really pleased and are planning to return soon

Please continue to let us know your eating experiences at any of our local establishments - either good or bad - and we'll share with the rest of our readers.

Chelmsford's Ugliest Building

An on-line poll of Essex Chronicle readers voted our own Marrable House (the monstrosity beside the Vineyards) as the ugliest building in Chelmsford by a wide margin.

[Source: Essex Chronicle - February 2015]

Spring has Sprung - in January?

Walking past the back of the Vineyards down High Street and spied this golden host. Global Warming?